AICE programDuval County Public Schools offers the Advanced International Certificate of Education, which is a pre-university program at four high schools: Mandarin, Raines, Fletcher and Forrest. Sponsored by the University of Cambridge International Examinations, the program involves a rigorous advanced curriculum intended to prepare students to enter college. AICE students can earn up to 45 hours of college credit. Here’s an overview of the program by the numbers:

- 2003 — Mandarin High School implements AICE

- 2005 — Raines High School activates AICE

- 2010 — Fletcher and Forrest high schools implement AICE

- 212 — Fletcher AICE enrollment

- 66 — Forrest AICE enrollment

- 74 — Raines AICE enrollment

- 450 — Mandarin AICE enrollment

- At least 150 — Number of colleges and universities nationwide recognizing AICE as equivalent to first-year standing for students

- 39 — Number of states with colleges recognizing AICE as equivalent to first-year standing for students

Participation by community groups and businesses in AICE is welcomed. For more information or to bring in AICE program speakers, call M. Carolyn Girardeau, Duval County executive director of high school programs, at (904) 348-7790.

Duval students striving to ace AICE international academic program

Kathy Nesselrode (center) talks to students while teaching her AICE English Language class at Mandarin High School. Mandarin offers the Advanced International Certificate of Education from Cambridge International Examinations.

Lisa Moore, AICE program coordinator, visits Kathy Nesselrode's AICE English Language class at Mandarin High School on Thursday, September 20, 2012 Jacksonville, FL. Mandarin H.S. offers the Advanced International Certificate of Education from Cambridge International Examinations.

School Board members talk about preparing Duval County students to thrive in a globally competitive world. Teachers in four Duval high schools and two middle schools are making it happen for students through an internationally recognized academic program.

Designed for highly motivated students, the Advanced International Certificate of Education program is a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum emphasizing independent research, initiative and creativity. Commonly called AICE, its students can earn up to 45 college credit hours in the program, which is sponsored by the University of Cambridge International Examinations in England.

The program requires students to study subjects in three main advanced curriculum groups: math and science, languages and arts and humanities.

“Analyze, synthesize and apply. For any adult, regardless of the career path, that is a tremendous life skill,” said Lisa Moore, AICE coordinator at Mandarin High School, where the program is in its 10th year.

The hours of homework each night are a challenge, but it’s worth the effort, AICE students at Mandarin said. Many of them also are student athletes, band or chorus members, have after-school jobs or are active in the community. The keys, they said, are good time management and minimizing distractions.

“It’s tough. There is a lot of writing essays and analyzing things,” said Jessica Steckler, a Mandarin senior considering majoring in aerospace engineering with a minor in psychology. “But it is definitely doable if you just stick to it.”

“It’s a great jump start right into the college,” said Andrew Turner, a Mandarin senior and National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. “It gets you really prepared for all the writing, other topics and workload you will be dealing with in college.”

Mandarin and Raines were the first Duval schools offering the program. AICE is offered in ninth through 12th grades at both. Three years ago, the district expanded it to Fletcher and Forrest high schools, where it’s offered through 11th grade, said M. Carolyn Girardeau, executive director of high school programs for Duval County Public Schools.

AICE is in its first year at both Northwestern and Jefferson Davis middle schools. Northwestern serves as a feeder program for Raines, while Jefferson Davis does the same for Forrest. Mandarin Middle School recently asked about offering the program, Girardeau said.

Clay and St. Johns are among other Florida school districts with the program, which is offered in more than 9,000 schools in 160 countries across the world.

The Cambridge curriculum also has been studied by Britain’s Prince William and Prince Harry, Moore said.

Royalty or not, AICE gives students an edge when it comes to college.

“It gives you the college credits while you are still in high school and it makes your application more competitive,” Girardeau said. “The universities are getting hundreds and thousands of applications, so they look and see that this student took a rigorous curriculum.”

To get into the program, students must apply and then meet a series of academic eligibility standards.

Celebrating a “Decade of Distinction,” Mandarin’s AICE program has grown from an inaugural 20 students to about 450. In its class of 2012, 92 of the 99 eligible students earned the AICE diploma.

At Raines the AICE graduates posted an average grade-point average of 4.1 and included both the class valedictorian and salutatorian. Meanwhile, the 75 students in the inaugural class at Fletcher have an average grade-point average of 3.95. The Forrest AICE students had a 73 percent pass rate on the program’s English/language arts exam, while the district pass rate was 55 percent, school officials said.

“We think students who participate in the program are much better prepared to graduate and get a college diploma,” said Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals.